Chapter 12.2
“Gods, no, Cynwrig would never do something like that. Not to you.”
I glanced up as Zoe brought over our drinks and nodded my thanks. “Why? While there is no denying the attraction between us, our relationship started as an information resource—him using me to keep an eye on the hunt for the Claws, while I needed a source close to the council and what your lot were doing.”
“That may well be true, but I doubt it is why he gifted the bracelet.”
“Well, with the severing of all non-Myrkálfar personal relationships for the next three months, it would be one way of ensuring he kept up to date with what we were doing.”
“Do you really think so little of my brother?”
I couldn’t help a wry smile. “I may know the man extremely well sexually, but in many other ways, he remains a mystery. And he’s a mystery that is keeping some serious secrets.”
She took another drink and studied me for several seconds. She seemed to be considering what to say next, which only made me curious as to what she might be hiding. Because she, like he, was hiding something, of that I was suddenly sure.
“Is it not true that relationships starting in less-than-ideal grounds are often the strongest and deepest?”
I raised my eyebrows. “That might well be, but how deep can our relationship ever be when, come coronation, he’s expected to pick a bride? I don’t ever intend to be the other woman, Treasa.”
Surprise flitted through her eyes again. She hadn’t expected me to know that. “He wouldn’t want you to be.”
“Then what the hell does he want? What good can come of using the bracelet to extend a relationship that has such a limited time left anyway?”
She hesitated. “Perhaps he merely wishes to enjoy what time he does have left.”
“And how is that fair to me? He is not the only man in my life, and perhaps I should use this break to give that other man and our fledgling relationship a chance to become something more.”
Even if it was the last thing my heart really wanted.
Of course, my heart had already proven to be decidedly stupid.
It wasn’t like I was in love with Cynwrig, even if I did fear it might become a consequence of spending too much more time with him.
“That is of course your decision to make,” Treasa said softly.
I took an overly large gulp of my whisky. “Then perhaps I should return the gift?—”
“You should not. It was designed for you, and solely for you. Wear it or not, that is your choice, but returning it is pointless.”
“Almost as pointless as having a bracelet I cannot risk wearing, no matter how beautiful it is.”
“He will be pleased to hear you think that.” She paused. “If you wish to erase the magic within the bracelet, you can do so. You simply press four fingers against the surface, wait for the stars to spiral around them, and then simply say, end this dalliance. The magic will flee, and the bracelet will become nothing more than stars encased in stone.”
I nodded, though the thought of doing so broke something deep inside. “Thank you for that.”
She nodded and finished her drink. “I don’t suppose you’ve had any time to consider Geitha’s Tears?”
“I’ve done a little research but haven’t yet discovered anything more than what you’ve already told me. Once this mess with my aunt is over, I’ll try a little scrying.”
She hesitated, then simply nodded, and rose. “Stay wary, Bethany. Deceptions abound in this world right now, and some of them wear a pleasant face.”
And with those ominous words hanging between us, she left.
The urge to run after her and ask her to explain hit hard but I suspected it would be of little use. Like Cynwrig, she would only tell me what she wanted me to know, when she thought I needed to know it, especially when it involved family.
Though why I thought that might be the case here, I couldn’t say.
I sighed, finished my drink, then went upstairs to pack some bags. After a quick ring around various hotels, I found a suite in the Abode Hotel, which was a modern glass-and-black-steel semicircular building a country mile away from anything I’d generally choose to stay in. It also wasn’t that far away from the museum, which meant I could keep an eye out for any resumption of attack there.
I sent a message to both my brother and Mathi to let them know where I was headed, then picked up my bags and headed out of my bedroom. I’d barely reached the stairs when the wind whisked in from the still-open bedroom window and whispered her secrets.
The witch might have retreated from the museum, but she hadn’t gone very far.
Right now, she was kneeling on the roof of the lovely old neoclassical bank building on the corner of Eastgate and St Werburgh Street, preparing to ice us over.
I dropped my bags, ran down the stairs, and found Ingrid. After explaining what was happening, I told her to get everyone out of the building via the rear lane.
She didn’t argue. Aside from the fact she’d worked with both Mom and Gran, and had witnessed some pretty strange things over the years, she was aware of the attacks on both the tavern and me over the last few weeks. And, no doubt, also knew about the three recent ice attacks. I might not watch the news, but I knew she did.
As she started ushering the customers out and organizing the staff to quickly secure their various sections before heading out themselves, I ran back upstairs, hauled down the loft ladder, and scrambled up it.
The minute my fingers touched the upper floor, I could feel the chill in the old wood, though it wasn’t yet cold enough to form ice or kill its song. The witch had obviously flipped her method of attack again, this time going top to bottom, just as she had at Kaitlyn’s.
I made no attempt to halt the steadily increasing chill. I didn’t reach for my knives or drive them into the fabric of the building to break her hold on it. Doing so risked her simply retreating again. My best bet was to attack her rather than her ice, and my best way of doing that was via a storm.
More specifically, via lightning.
Whether I had enough strength left to do that, I honestly couldn’t say. But I had to try.
After sending Mathi a quick text to tell him what was happening and what I was about to do, I grabbed the ottoman footstool in front of Mom’s chair and carried it down to the skylight at the end of the room. I still hadn’t gotten around to getting it fixed, so it remained locked in place by a long but sturdy piece of wire. I undid that, then leaped onto the footstool and pushed the skylight all the way open. Stars twinkled high above, but I could feel the distant caress of thunder and hoped like hell there was enough power within it to stop the witch hiding further down the street. After a quick plea to any gods that might be listening to give me a damn break for a change, I grabbed the sides of the skylight and half jumped, half wiggled, my ass onto the roof. The slates were slick with moss, forcing me to concentrate and proceed cautiously when all I wanted to do was damn well run. Even so, I slipped more than once, but each time managed to catch my balance before sliding right over the edge. I reached my neighbor’s rooftop without killing myself and sighed in relief, but it was likely a little too early given there remained a good half dozen buildings between me and the witch.
A quick glance behind me revealed the tiles now had a silver sheen. If I didn’t stop her soon, the building’s song would start dying.
I swore and moved on. Thankfully, the newer rear sections of the next couple of buildings weren’t as steep as mine, allowing me to go faster. Two buildings from the end of the street and the bank building, however, I struck a large problem—an additional floor that had been tacked on top of the old building. I scanned it crossly—partially because the heritage council had given us shit for raising the tavern’s roof and yet had allowed this monstrosity to be built—looking for a way up. There was no ladder and nothing I could stand on. Nothing that wouldn’t buckle under my weight, anyway.
Which meant this roof would have to do. She wouldn’t at least see me from here, and it was doubtful she’d sense me. All her concentration and strength were probably being channeled into icing over the tavern, so it was unlikely she’d notice the gathering force of electricity in the air until it was too late.
I recalled the finger of wind that had warned me of her presence and sent it skittering forward again to get a clearer indication of her location; it returned with news she was near the front corner of the bank building, a position that would give her good views of both streets.
Meaning she likely planned to run again the minute she either sensed my presence in her ice or saw the IIT swarming the area.
I took a long deep breath that did little to ease the trembling weariness that remained deep within, then drew my knives and reached for the distant clouds. Technically, I should be on the ground and grounded, but there were too many people out on the streets and, if things went wrong, too many people that could be hurt. But shoving a blade into the slate flooring in the kitchen at Tony’s had certainly succeeded in ridding my body of the lingering remnants of lightning, so it should work equally as well here. And, at the very least, this building had a long expanse of slate, and that hopefully meant it would more easily disperse the force I was about to call down.
If I could call it down.
I closed my eyes, pictured the witch’s position, then raised a knife and reached for the electricity that gently rolled through that distant storm. Pain knifed through my brain, and a gasp escaped. It was just as well I was already sitting because I definitely would have fallen. Moisture squeezed past closed eyelids, but I bit my lip, using one pain to counter the other as I continued to call to the storm. After a moment, thunder cracked, a distant but powerful force, then light shot across the dark sky, momentarily blotting out the stars as it streaked toward me—a fierceness I could not only feel but see through closed eyelids.
The lightning hit the raised blade, and pain exploded through me. While the storm’s electricity was nowhere near as powerful as the tempest I’d called down earlier, my insides now felt like they were being boiled alive. Doing this twice in one day without giving my body a decent chance to rest was obviously not a good thing.
I quickly fixed the witch’s position in my mind, then pointed my second knife in her direction and unleashed the power, doing my best to force all the inner electricity through the blade and back into the air. My lungs burned, and I couldn’t seem to get enough air into my body—a body that was on fire figuratively if not yet literally—and my vision was clouding over.
If I didn’t get rid of the heat very quickly, I could die, just as Beira had warned.
I thrust the knife point into a slate tile, somehow managing not to slice all the way through and hit the framework underneath. The slate itself was fire resistant, but the wooden fabric of the building was not, and the last thing I wanted was to set it on fire or fry all their electrics.
The blade began to pulse and the tiles underneath me became heated. My body continued to shake, and my vision became tunnel-like as I zoomed toward unconsciousness. I dropped one knife, dragged my phone from my pocket, and used voice command to send Mathi another text that simply said, Drained. Hurry.
It took the last of my strength.
When I came to, he was squatting beside me, a bottle of water in one hand and a block of chocolate in the other. I was somehow still gripping the knife, though I’d fallen sideways heavily enough to crack nearby tiles. How I managed not to skewer myself with the knife’s hilt I’ll never know.
“You brought me chocolate,” I croaked. “And here I was thinking you didn’t care.”
“I will always care, just not in the way you deserve.” He put them both down, then gently helped me sit upright. My breath hissed through clenched teeth, and muscles from top to bottom protested. Even my damn hair seemed to hurt. He handed me the bottle of water, then opened the chocolate for me. “I take it our witch got away again?”
“I actually don’t know. She was on the bank building’s rooftop.” I sheathed the knives, took a long drink, then accepted the row of chocolate he handed me, demolishing it in seconds. “What time is it?”
There was still a lot of noise coming from the streets below, and the moon hadn’t appeared to have risen too much more, so I doubted hours had passed. But we had a witch to deal with, and if she wasn’t dead, then we needed to get her—and the horn—back to Borrhás.
Before he decided we’d had enough time and started a little destruction of his own.
“It’s just gone eight,” Mathi replied. “And please, do not ever send me a text stating that you’re drained again. Had I a heart, it would have had an attack.”
“Idiot.” But at least I’d been out for less than five minutes. I held out my right hand. “Help me up.”
“I don’t think that’s wise. Your hair looks kinda fried and your eyes are as red as Tony’s were.”
“Neither of which alters the fact we need to check whether I managed to stop the witch or not, and if I did , we can’t let the IIT know. Not when we have a god demanding her soul.”
He hesitated, then nodded and took my hand; he was nothing if not practical. Though he was as gentle as possible, the movement still had a dozen different parts of my body protesting, and another hiss escaped.
It was apparently too much for him to handle, because he scowled and said, “Seriously, you need to let me go take care of the witch while you?—”
“You can’t take her to Borrhás, Mathi. You can’t even get into Liadon’s domain.”
“I’m well aware of that, but if she’s not dead, I can keep her under sedation until you’re capable?—”
“We’re running out of time. We need to do it now.”
Why I was suddenly sure of that, I couldn’t say. Maybe second sight was subtly prodding; maybe it was simply fear. Either way, we dare not waste precious minutes, let alone hours.
“Fine,” he said, voice flat. A sure sign he was seriously annoyed.
I took several deep breaths in an attempt to ease the latest wave of dizziness hitting my brain, then ate some more chocolate and put it and the water into my coat pocket before cautiously moving forward. Mathi kept close, catching me when my steps wavered, or feet slipped. Thankfully, we made it back to my rooftop and the skylight in one piece. Mathi went down first and steadied me as I followed.
After he released the skylight and had leashed it in place again, I said, “How did you get here so quickly?”
“I’d just left the IIT building when the lightning streaked across the sky. I guessed that meant you were either in trouble or battling the witch, so I asked to be driven here. That was when I received your first text. Knowing your propensity for tackling problems alone, I do believe we broke the local speed limits getting here.”
I smiled, though it felt a somewhat pale imitation of its usual self. “But how did you get in? Ingrid would have locked up when she left, and I can’t see her giving you the code without clearing it with me first.”
“She didn’t have to, because I know the rear code.”
I glanced up as I cautiously went down the loft ladder. “You do? How?”
“I pay attention, that’s how.”
His voice was wry, and I couldn’t help smiling. “I guess, given the current situation with the council, that’s probably wise anyway.”
I stepped away from the ladder, drank more water, then tucked it back into my pocket and pulled out the chocolate again. I was starting to feel a little more “human” even if the aching weariness was probably three times worse than it had been.
I followed him down the stairs, and we headed out the back of the building where Ingrid, the staff, and most of our customers waited.
“Clear?” she asked.
I nodded. “Give everyone a free drink for the inconvenience.”
A cheer went up at that bit of news. I smiled and continued down the lane. Mathi’s car waited in a no-standing zone, but he motioned the driver to remain and turned right, hurrying down to the next lane.
“There’s no rear or rooftop entry to the bank building from here,” I said, a little confused. Which wasn’t surprising given my brain was still spinning out every now and again, forcing me to run my fingers against the side of a building to regain my center.
“Not directly. But there’s an old fire escape up ahead, and we can use that to get up to its roof then make our way across.”